Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid for a record €100 million while Lionel Messi showed the talent he will be up against in La Liga when the Argentine hit a hat-trick in Barcelona's 3-2 win over Valencia.
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Barcelona and Real are among four teams with a perfect record in Spain while it is even more tight in Serie A, with five clubs sharing top honours, including champions Juventus.
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In the Premier League, it was not a good weekend for champions Manchester United or a Spurs team without Bale. Both lost 1-0 to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively.
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Liverpool and Arsenal scored 1-0 wins over bitter rivals Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively in the Premier League on Sunday.
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Daniel Sturridge scored after four minutes at Anfield on the day the club celebrated the 100th birthday of renowned former manager Bill Shankly, a result that sent them to the top of the table with three wins from three matches.
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Arsenal prevailed over big-spending north London rivals Spurs shortly before Bale's move to Real Madrid for €100 million was confirmed.
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Olivier Giroud netted for the Gunners, and like Sturridge has scored three goals in three appearances this season.
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Chelsea, who lost the Super Cup to Bayern Munich on Friday, lie second, two points behind Liverpool, while Manchester City, 2-0 winners over Hull City on Saturday, Arsenal, Stoke and Spurs lie on six points. Champions United have four.
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Lionel Messi struck the third first-half hat-trick of his career as Barcelona extended their winning start to their title defence with an entertaining 3-2 win at Valencia.
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Hours before sealing the transfer of Bale from Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid made it three wins from three by beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at the Bernabeu and Atletico Madrid joined the two giants on nine points with a 2-1 success at Real Sociedad.
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Promoted Villarreal's impressive 3-0 victory at Osasuna means they also have a perfect record and suggested the team known as "yellow submarine" are unlikely to surrender their top flight status again this term.